Stereotypes of Native Americans in Modern Films Essay...

Stereotypes of Native Americans in Modern Films There are many stereotypes about Native Americans which are promoted in todays films. Since the beginnings of the westward settlement people have been saying things about the Native Americans that are not necessarily true. They were depicted as savages and thieves. Like all peoples this is true about some, but not for all. In fact, it was the Native Americans which helped the pilgrims settle in this country in the first place. This never stopped whites from stereotyping the way we have. Early films and TV shows gave Native Americans a bad image. Old western films are a good example of this. In these the cowboys were always the good guys and the Native Americans were the bad guys. More†¦show more content†¦With this information it is easy to see how telivision promotes these stereotypes. Some of the stereotypes are good and are some bad. Most of the early black and white shows depicted Native Americans as savages and murderers. These were the typical shows where the Native Am ericans would kill white women and children and then the cowboys would go after the Native Americans. One TV show that portrayed Native Americans as bad people is The Wild Wild West which still airs on TNT at three p.m. on weekdays. The show depicted Native Americans as having no morals, hating whites, and just being evil. Every time an Native American appears in the show he is doing something bad such as robbing the stage, or raping some white women. One early TV show that actually had a good Native American in it was the Lone Ranger. Tonto was his side kick that always helped the lone ranger to do good things. This is one of the first shows that actually portrayed an Native American as a good person. Even though he was promoted as a good Native American he was still played out to be less intelligent then the Lone Ranger. Starting in second half of the twentieth century school teachers started to teach school children about Native Americans. Children first learned about Squanto and how he helped the pilgrims survive through their first winter in America. This gave some children a confused image of NativeShow MoreRelatedThe New World974 Words   |  4 Pagesthe Genesis of stereotypes one must first understand what stereotypes are. In Celluloids Indians Jacquelyn Kilpatrick describes stereotypes as such, â€Å"‘ [s] tereotypes are evaluative concepts about status and roles and as such are central to interpreting and evaluating social groups including one’s own.†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (xvi) Kilpatrick explores â€Å"the social, ideological and political construction†(xvi) of stereotypes in literature, film and politics. 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